Mangrove Lithium Ribbon Cutting

From The Globe and Mail to MotorTrend: How a Ribbon Cutting Put Lithium Refining Startup on the Global Map

Challenge

Mangrove Lithium spent 10 years in developing a cutting-edge technology that converts the most common forms of lithium into battery-grade feedstock. The company was about to open North America's first commercial electrochemical lithium refinery in Delta, British Columbia. The ribbon cutting was the company's biggest visibility moment to date. It had two goals: Build credibility with its next round of customers and investors, and position Mangrove with policymakers as a key part of building a domestic lithium supply chain. CEO Saad Dara needed coverage across three very different audiences in one news cycle: Mining majors, EV & battery manufacturers and local provincial officials.

Strategy

Tigercomm pulled on our experience having pitched and managed dozens of other ribbon cuttings to maximize visuals at the event. We built and delivered custom pitches tailored to outlets serving each audience type, with each version anchored in Mangrove Lithium's three corporate messages.

We staged the ribbon and podium in front of the refinery line so the technology would be in frame for every photo or clip. We provided a shot list for Mangrove's photographer and videographer ahead of time, with quick turnaround on images and B-roll for outlets that couldn't make the event and for use in the news release. Mangrove also held a tour of the refinery and a miniature demonstration of the technology that Northern Miner videoed and included in their story.

Execution

• Anchored the national story with a day-before Canadian Press site visit and tour with Saad, producing both a wire story and a CP video.
• Edited the news release and advised on headline, structure, embargo plan, and wire selection.
• Sent the embargoed release to reporters across mining, EV, mainstream, and local press. Electrek, Heatmap, Sustainable Biz Canada, and Vancouver Sun took the embargo and seeded launch-day coverage.
• Built reporter-specific prep docs with background and anticipated Q&A.
• Secured feature coverage with MotorTrend reporter by re-engaging warm relationship, thanks to informational briefing we organized months prior to the event.

Results

Coverage hit all four target categories in the same week. The Canadian Press syndicated the story to at least 27 outlets including The Globe and Mail, CBC, BNN Bloomberg, Toronto Star, CP24, and CTV News. Radio-Canada ran an original French-language piece. Mining trades (Mining.com, Northern Miner, Mining Technology, Mining Weekly), EV trades (MotorTrend, Electrek, Automotive News Canada, Ecoloauto), and tech outlets (OilPrice.com at 9.5M UVPM, Interesting Engineering at 2.9M UVPM) all covered the opening. Four government and academic voices spoke for Mangrove in coverage, including federal and provincial ministers.

Two weeks later, Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity all named Mangrove the #1 or #2 example of North American lithium refining capacity, each citing ribbon-cutting coverage as a source. With AI search increasingly replacing Google for B2B buyers, the campaign delivered a durable asset that keeps working well after the original news cycle.